February 26 2010

Buffalo House

Check out Buffalo House by the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Studio 804. This house is sleek, sustainable and has well integrated building strategies.

The sustainable features are:

1. Cumaru Wood Rainscreen
2. Enough rooftop photovoltaic solar panels for a net zero electricity supply (90-100%) for an average home.
3. One on-site 1.2 KW Windspire wind turbine that could produce about 20% of the energy an average home (550 kWh a month) assuming wind speed of at least 12 miles-per-hour year round.
4. Geothermal heat exchange between the house and the below-ground 55 degree temperatures year round, providing a constant starting point for both heating and cooling.
5. Epoxy coated gyp-crete floors for interior thermal mass to prolong passive heating and cooling
6. Passive solar design: low South-facing windows with sunlight access to thermal mass in the floor.
7. Heat-chimney effect created with roof ventilation in North skylights for expelling hot air
8. The framing wood was recycled from an ammunition plant.
9. Recycled materials in interior finishes such as the composite recycled paper countertops.
10. The rainwater reclamation using a wooden slat skin to keep water off the building and stored in underground tanks. Cumaru is one of the hardest woods on the planet and can be harvested sustainably.

Images: Robert McLaughlin
Via Jetson Green and GreenBuildingElements

February 26th, 2010 at 4:07 PM. Posted in Architecture. Share this post.